The May 1 deadline is looming for operators of short-term rentals across B.C. to register with the province and pay an annual fee. Read More
B.C. government says it’s on track to process registrations, but could delay listing cutoffs if needed
B.C. government says it’s on track to process registrations, but could delay listing cutoffs if needed
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The May 1 deadline is looming for operators of short-term rentals across B.C. to register with the province and pay an annual fee.
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But some short-term rental owners say they have been waiting more than a month for their registration applications to be processed and worry what will happen if they don’t get a provincial registration number by the deadline.
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“I’m in limbo. I don’t know anything about the delays, but I see people talking about them (online) everywhere,” said Colin Ratushniak, who says he has been waiting about five weeks to have his one-bedroom downtown Vancouver condo registered with the province.
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Online forums suggest short-term rental owners have had mixed experiences with the provincial registry: Some say the turnaround time has been a week or two, while others say it’s taken much longer.
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Ratushniak said he started the process before Feb. 28 to take advantage of an early-bird discount of 50 per cent off the annual fees, which range from $100 for a room in a primary residence to $450 for a secondary suite, cottage or laneway house. For March, the discount dropped to 25 per cent off the annual fees.
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“It’s a bit hilarious that there is this discount,” he said. “The issue now is that Airbnb, VRBO and the (other) platforms are sending me messages, saying, ‘register, register, register’ and that the deadline is May and, if you don’t have a registration number, your listing will be removed.”
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The regulations state that if a listing isn’t registered with the province and doesn’t have a registration number to post by May 1, online platforms have to stop advertising them and prevent any new bookings.
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Starting June 1, if a listing isn’t registered with the province, the sites not only have to stop advertising it and prevent any new bookings, they also must cancel any existing ones.
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Operators of short-term rentals have to display a provincial registration number on their listings, and online platforms are required to validate these against the provincial registry.
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Airbnb says on its website that hosts in B.C. seeking to be registered by the province “are encouraged to begin the application process as soon as possible to prevent impacts on your ability to host.”
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Airbnb added in a statement to Postmedia it was aware of delays in processing times and that it had put those concerns to the provincial government.
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The Housing Ministry said it was on track to process all registration applications before the deadline.
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There are no plans to extend the May 1 deadline for registration, the ministry said. However, anyone who applies before May 1, but doesn’t receive a registration number by June 1, will not have their listings cancelled.